-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Do not go backstage at Cirque Du Soleil . It will only hurt your self-esteem .

Anthony Gatto says he 's been in training since he was 3 years old and performing since he was 8 .

In the performers ' tent for the touring show `` Kooza , '' there are the chiseled men catapulting their partners onto each other 's shoulders from a giant see-saw and the woman doing contortions on children 's - sized blocks .

You can only take so much of this before your ego needs normal .

Normal might be that man in the corner , wearing a T-shirt , shorts and sneakers throwing balls in the air . How hard can that be ?

Your self-worth will be quickly dashed again when the man picks up a soccer ball , bounces it on his head and jumps rope at the same time . Moments later , he 's juggling six or seven orange rings -LRB- they move so fast , it looks like a blur -RRB- and then does a pirouette -- while all the rings are in the air -- and then catches them on his arm . Watch the juggler in action ''

You could say Anthony Gatto went into the family business . But his stepfather was n't a farmer or a doctor . He was a juggler .

`` By the time I was 8 , I was entered into a juggling competition , and incidentally , that was the same competition that Patrick Dempsey , the actor , was in , '' Gatto said . `` He used to be a juggler . We competed against each other . I took first , he took second . Now he 's a big actor and here I am , juggling . ''

Gatto is being modest . In fact , he did n't audition for `` Kooza . '' The show went looking for him .

`` I have right now 11 juggling world records , '' he said . `` Some of them I 've held since I was 16 years old and they have yet to be beaten . ''

Imagine a wearable disco ball . That 's not too different from the form-fitting outfit Gatto wears onstage . Backstage , it 's a long-sleeve T-shirt , gym shorts and sneakers .

But there 's nothing casual about his daily routine . He typically works out and practices six to seven hours a day to prepare for his 10 minutes in the spotlight . In fact , he is practicing until moments before he runs on stage .

`` Juggling is something that is so delicate , you have to have a really good feel , you can lose that in minutes , '' he said . `` There are so many variables that can affect you . If it 's a humid day , it 's a very difficult task to get through the number that I do . The wind , if there 's any air current in there and you 're expecting to catch a ring and it blows an inch , you miss it . ''

But he rarely misses -- at least not in his act . This performer , who relies on coordination and concentration 350 shows a year , admits his most embarrassing moment has nothing to do with balls , clubs or rings . It 's acting that trips him up .

`` I have fallen as the delivery-man character in the show . In fact , I have done this a few times , '' he said . `` I like to think it 's because I put my heart and soul into the characters I 'm portraying . ''

Surrounded by all this talent and precision , there is some comfort in knowing one of the best -- maybe the best juggler in the world -- is also a klutz .

@highlight

Cirque Du Soleil 's `` Kooza '' went looking for juggler with 11 world records

@highlight

Anthony Gatto beat actor Patrick Dempsey in juggling competition

@highlight

Gatto practices six to seven hours to prepare for 10 minutes on stage

@highlight

Says humidity and wind can affect his routine